Dispensing caps for collapsible containers



Aug. 16, 1960 W. M. MUDGE ET AL DISPENSING CAPS FOR COLLAPSIBLECONTAINERS Filed'llaroh 1-7, 1958 :5 Irweit'loras will M. MLLdQQ. RobertC. GJGK11 LQ1- J'avnes ulalexandal' United States Patent DISPENSING CAPSFOR COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINERS Will M. Mudge, St. Louis Park, Minn. (2301Westridge Lane, Minneapolis 16, Minn); and Robert C. Alexander, 301'5Fairehild Ave., and James W. Alexander, 3003 Fairchild Ave., both ofWayzata, Minn.

7 Filed Mar. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 722,059

1 Claim. ((31. 222-490) Our. invention relates to improvements indispensing caps for collapsible containers such as tubes in which toothpastes, shaving creams, hair creams and the like are commonly sold.

Tubes and other collapsible containers of the nature indicated areconventionally of a construction in which the container body is providedwith an externally threaded discharge neck for which an internallythreaded closure cap is provided, said closure cap being screwed ontothecontainer neck, when the container is in disuse, and being unscrewedfrom said neck and removed therefrom when material is to be dispensedfrom the container. Such conventional closure caps, when removed fromthe necks of containers, are easily and often misplaced or lost to theinconvenience of the user and to the detriment of the contents of thecontainers.

So-called captive closure caps have been tethered in one way or anotherto collapsible containers to pre vent the misplacement or loss of thecaps, but such expedients require costly departures from theconventional in container construction, or are otherwise prohibitivelycostly. I

=Elforts have been [made to provide dispensing caps for collapsiblecontainers which do not require removal from or replacement on thethreaded container necks. However, insofar as we are aware, no fullyadequate container cap of the dispensing type has been heretoforedevised. .A fully adequate dispensing cap should cost no more than anordinary closure cap and, like the ordinary closure cap, should bereadily screwable onto the usual. threaded neck of a conventional tubeor other containerby machines of conventional design. The fully adequatedispensing cap, initially placed on the neck of a tube .or othercontainer, should not only seal the container against leakage throughoutall of the times of its packaging, transportation and storage up tothetime of preparation for its use by the user, but also thereafter and atall times between uses until the entire content of the container isdispensed therefrom. Additionally, no more than a minimum of'effort,withoutskill and unattended with the use of an instrument of any kind,should be required on the part. of-a user in preparing the. dispensingcap for use;

An object of our invention, therefore, is to provide a construction indispensing'caps for collapsible containers, attended" with the variousfeatures aforesaid which, in 'our contemplation, are requisite in afully adequate cap of such nature.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterillustrated and/r described.

In the drawing:

-'Fig. 1 is an elevational view, in enlarged scale, of a dispensing capconstructed in accordance with our invention, said view showingbroadside the near side wall of the nozzle of the cap.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the cap shownin ice Fig. 1, said Fig. 2showing broadside the near end walltudinally of said wall, said capbeing shown as applied to the threaded neck of a collapsible tube.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of said cap taken in a plane extendinglongitudinally of the cap centrally thereof and intersecting the capsterminal will laterally of said wall.

Fig. 5 is afragmentary sectional view in detail of the nozzle of saidcap, said view corresponding in section with that of Fig. 1 and beingenlarged in scale thereover, said view showing a slit-score in theterminal wall of the nozzle at the inner face of said wall.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view in detail of the nozzleofsaidcap, said view corresponding in section with that of Fig. 2' andbeing enlarged thereover, said Fig. 6, like Fig. 5, showing theslit-score in the terminal wall of the nozzle at the inner face of saidwall.

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail sectional views corresponding to. Figs. 5 and6, respectively, the slit-score in the nozzles terminal wall being shownat the outer face of said wall rather than at the inner face thereof.

Figs. 9 and 10 are detail sectional views corresponding to Figs. 5 -and6, respectively, illustrating a weakening of the nozzles elongatedterminal wall along a line longitudinally thereof, the weakening of saidwall extending completely therethrough from the inner to the outer'facethereof.

V The illustrated form of dispensing cap has a skirt -A and a nozzle Bextending therefrom longitudinally there of, the structurebeinggenerally tapered from the base ofthelskirt A to the end of saidnozzle B. Said cap is a molded structure of a material that isresilient, polyethylene being a suitable and desirable material.

at its base with an outwardly extending annular flange 12. i The lowerportion of the annular wall 11 of said skirt A is formed with internalthreads 13 which threadedly receive external threads on the neck of atube or other collapsible container, such as the tube 14- shown in Fig..3 with a neck 15 having external threads 16 thereon. H

The nozzle B of the illustrated cap has an elongated terminal wall b,opposed side walls 17 joining said terminal wall at its side extremitiesalong the length thereof, and opposed end walls 18 joining said terminalwall b at its extremities along thebreadth thereof. The terminal. wallb. is longitudinally arched from end to end thereof and laterally archedfrom one side thereof to the other. .Saidterminal wall b, throughout itsentire area, .is relatively thin, as compared with the annular wall 11of the skirt A. The side walls 17 are likewise relatively thinsubstantially throughout the same, while the end walls 18,. at. theirupper portions, are similarly relatively thin. This relative thinness inWall structures, amongother things as will later appear, conserves inthe amount of material used in molding the cap. Said side walls, 17,.substantially throughout the same, are exteriorly concave longitudinallyof the cap,and said end walls 18, at said upper portions, thereof, arealso exteriorly concave longitudinally of the cap, the said side walls17 and the said end walls 18 meeting the terminal wall b substantiallyat right angles relative thereto.

The elongated terminal wall b is weakened along a line longitudinallythereof, which weakening defines in said tenminal wall a line ofseverance and opposed lips 19 meeting along such line. To thus weakenthe terminal wall b of the nozzle B, a slit-score 20 is formed in saidterminal wall, said slit-score extending longitudinally of the terminalwall along the middle thereof at its inner face Figs. 5., 6), or itsouter face, (Figs. 7, 8) or, instead of a slit-score, a slit is formedin said terminal wall b, as at 21 in Fig. 10, 'such slit beingthereafter fracturably sealed closed by the application of heat to theslitted terminal wall b, or otherwise, such seal being represented inthe sectional area 22 in Fig. 9. The slit-scoring or slitting of theterminal wall b is preferably done by an instrument with a knifeedge,rather than by molding, so that the lips 19 of the terminal wall b willnormally meet each other and be securely closed against the leakage ofmaterial therethrough.

The cap is exteriorly fluted to provide ribs '23 extending lengthwise ofthe cap for coaction with capping machinery of the type conventionallyemployed in applying threaded caps to the threaded necks of collapsiblecontainers.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the contents of acollapsible container, fitted with a dispensing cap of the constructionaforesaid, will be sealed within the container securely against escapetherefrom throughout all of the times in the packaging, shipment andstorage of such container which intervene between the capping of thecontainer and the conditioning of the dispensing cap for use. Tocondition the dispensing cap for use, the user simply bringsfinger-squeezing pressure against the opposite end walls 18 of thenozzle B. Under such pressure, said nozzle B is flexed, the archedterminal wall D of said nozzle being thereupon more sharply archedlongitudinally thereof and thereby fractured along its line ofweakening, severing the terminal wall b between the lips 19 definedtherein by such line of weakening. Releasing such pressure employed infracturing said terminal wall b, the resilient cap resumes its initialundistorted condition, wherein the terminal walls lips 19 assumecontacting relationship secure against escape of material from the capin the absence of collapsible pressure applied to the container.

After the terminal wall b of the nozzle B has been fractured, asaforesaid, material may be dispensed from said nozzle by collapsing thecontainer. This operation forces material from the container into thecap. Such material, under pressure, flexes the side walls 17 of thenozzle B bulging them outwardly and parting the lips 19 of the terminalwall b, the said material under pressure within the nozzle beingthereupon extruded there- B by cutting the slit-score 20 thereinto, saidwall b is thereby prepared for its ready fracturing severance throughthe thickness of said wall continuing from and left uncut by saidslit-score, as will be readily understood. After the terminal wall b hasbeen fractured by digital distortion of the nozzle B in providing theultimate discharge slit between the lips 19 of the terminal wall b, therespective fracture-formed and score-cut surface portions of theconfronting edges of said lips, defining said slit, met each other andeffectively close the slit as the nozzle resumes its initial undistortedcondition.

Other than to conserve in the cost of material going into the moldedcap, the terminal wall b of the nozzle B and the side and end walls 17,18 thereof are relatively thin to promote the opening of the lips 19 ofsaid terminal wall b under tolerable container-collapsing pressures.Yet, in such thin-walled nozzle construction, the lips 19 of theterminal wall b come tightly together when collapsing pressure upon thecontainer ceases.

Changes in the specific form of the invention, as herein described, maybe made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from thespirit of the invention.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to beprotected by Letters Patent is:

A dispensing cap for a collapsible container having a neck for thedischarge of material therefrom, said cap being of resilient materialhaving a skirt adapted to be applied to such container neck and having anozzle extending from said skirt longitudinally thereof, said nozzlehaving relatively thin walls including opposed side walls, opposed endwalls and an elongated terminal wall, said terminal wall beinglongitudinally arched and having a slit-score cut thereinto at one facethereof as with a knife edge, said slit-score preparing the terminalwall for its ready fracturing severance through the thickness of saidwall continuing from and left uncut by said slit-score, such slit-scoreextending longitudinally of the terminal wall and defining thereinopposed lips at the opposite sides of the slit-score, said nozzle wallsbeing adapted to flex under squeezing pressure exerted by the fingersagainst the nozzles opposed end walls, the arched terminal wall beingadapted under such squeezing pressure to arch more sharply and tofracture through said thickness thereof prepared for fracturing in thecutting of said slit-score, thereby completing a discharge slit in saidterminal wall between said lips, said walls of said nozzle being adaptedupon cessation of such squeezing pressure against them to resume theirinitial undistorted condition wherein the respective fracture-formed andscore-cut surface portions of the confronting edges of said lips meeteach other and effectively close said discharge slit, the walls of thenozzle being adapted to fiex under internal pressure exerted againstthem by ma terial forced into the nozzle from the container whencollapsing force is applied to the container, said lips of the terminalwall being adapted thereby to be parted from each other opening saidslit for the extrusion of material therethrough from within the nozzle,said nozzle walls when relieved from such internal pressure beingadapted to resume their said initial undistorted condition and therebyreclose said slit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,048,255 Winklemiller Dec. 24, 1912 2,005,642 Thornton June 18, 19352,550,132 Woods Apr. 24, 1951 2,738,907 Lacher Mar. 20, 1956 2,802,608-Gassaway Aug. 13, 1957

